Happy 2nd of January! If you’re reading this, congratulations—you’re still at least pretending to chase down your New Year’s resolutions and haven’t yet succumbed to the gravitational pull of the Quality Street tin. This article is a follow-up to yesterday’s piece, where I mused that Spring is a much better time to begin a big new regime. But here we are—winter in the UK, the dark mornings stretching out like an empty credit card statement, and the gym suddenly full of people in suspiciously crisp sportswear. Let’s be honest: statistically, most New Year’s resolutions are about as persistent as the British sun in January. Recent figures show just under 1 in 10 people (about 8%) keep their resolutions for a single month, with only 22% still holding onto them by March. Most people start feeling the wheels wobble right about now, and by the time daffodils show up, gyms everywhere have tumbleweed rolling between the squat racks. Specifically, up to 80% of new gym members quit within five months—and a significant chunk have vanished by the end of February. So if you’re still lacing up your gym trainers by Pancake Day, you’re already in the upper decile! Building Habits: The (Not So) Magic Number You might have heard it takes 21 days to form a habit. Sorry to say, it’s a myth propagated by self-help books clinging on longer than your average January diet. The gold-standard research by Phillippa Lally at UCL found that, on average, it takes 66 days of consistent behaviour for a new habit to become automatic. For some people, it’s as short as 18 days, for others, a whopping 254 days—your mileage may vary depending on the habit, motivation, and your tendency to get distracted by reality TV. So, if you’re feeling disheartened by your mid-winter wobble, remember: you’re still well within the ‘normal’ teething period. Tips For Making Resolutions Stick - Start small: Minor, sustainable changes beat massive overhauls. - Habit stacking: Attach your new behaviour to an existing routine (e.g., do your push-ups while waiting for the kettle). - Track it: Don’t rely on memory—use a calendar or app to mark each day you complete your target. - Social support: Let friends, family, or an online community know your plans. They’ll help keep you honest (and it’s harder to skip leg day when your mates are watching). - Celebrate wins: Give yourself a mental gold star for progress, not perfection.

Welcome to Common Sense Health: Joined Up Thinking This isn't another diet community. This is where physiology meets practicality, where we connect the dots between what you eat, how you move, when you sleep, and what your blood work is actually telling you. I'm Stephen Thomas, and for over a decade, I've worked with thousands of people to transform their health through low-carb, keto, and carnivore approaches. But here's what I've learned: the diet is just one piece of a much larger puzzle. Your health is a system, not a collection of isolated problems. In this community, we're peeling back the layers of conventional health wisdom to reveal what your body is really doing. We'll explore: Metabolic health through the lens of actual physiology—not headlines or health trends. We'll decode your blood tests together, understanding what those numbers mean in the context of low-carb metabolism, not outdated reference ranges designed for the standard Western diet. Circadian biology and why the timing of light exposure might be as important as what's on your plate. Your mitochondria don't operate in a vacuum—they respond to environmental signals that modern life has scrambled. Movement and exercise that align with your metabolic state and goals, not arbitrary fitness trends. Food as information, not just calories or macros. What you eat sends signals to every cell in your body. This is a place for questions, for challenging assumptions, and for learning to think critically about your health. I bring a degree in physiology, blood-testing expertise, and a thousand success stories. You bring the curiosity and commitment to understanding your own biology. We're done with reductionist thinking. We're done with "good" and "bad" cholesterol. We're done with fear-based medicine. Let's practice joined-up thinking together. What You'll Get: - Weekly live discussions where no question is off-limits - Access to my library of written guides and video content - A community of clear-thinking individuals who understand that metabolic health is the foundation - Evidence-based guidance that respects your intelligence and your body's complexity